Elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha

TNNSep 12, 2006, 02.10am IST

MUMBAI: Having entered Parliament and that too the elders' house, NCP chief and Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule, 38, wants to be known as an activist. Like any other beginner in politics, she too talked about not having ministerial aspirations.

The daughter of one of Maharashtra's most formidable politicians was formally elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on Monday. Ms Sule's entry had become a mere formality after all major political parties supported her candidature and nominations of three independent contenders got rejected on technical reasons.

"I would like to be known as an activist," Ms Sule told journalists. Exuding confidence which almost bordered on arrogance, Ms Sule said she did not have ambitions of scaling top positions in politics.

"I am not here to hold ministries or positions. I am here to serve and do my level best for the causes which are close to my heart," Ms Sule said. Education for the under-privileged, women empowerment, rehabilitation of the handicapped, and healthcare are the causes Mr Pawar's daughter wants to work for.

Asked if it was possible for a politician to work constructively for a cause without holding any position, Ms Sule answered in the affirmative. "I think it's possible. After all, I have been working for more than five years on education," she said. Ms Sule, however, acknowledged that her work so far has been through an NGO.

Asked about her stand on farmers' suicides when Mr Pawar holds the agriculture portfolio, Ms Sule said she would study the issue before making a serious comment. "I am as much pained by the suicides as anyone else. I would seek information from the government and other sources on this issue and then make a comment," she said. Ms Sule said she had discussed the issue with Mr Pawar.

Ms Sule recommended hard work for other young NCP leaders to reach the position of eminence she had scaled. "They need to identify some cause and work hard on that to achieve something," she said, though she refused to term this recommendation as advise. "I am too new and junior to give them any advise," she said.